School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences - The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) are conducting an exciting research study called Early Diagnosis of Children with Autism Using Facial Emotion Recognition Software. This study will help researchers learn more about the facial movements/affect of children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) during interactions with their caregivers.

You must be wondering, "why is emotion or affect the focus of our research and how can ASD be determined by a child's facial movements?" Studies on young children with ASD have suggested that socially directed positive affect may be one of the earliest predictors of ASD. Our goal is to identify differences in facial movements/affect between children with and without ASD that can be used as an early indicator of ASD. We will use emotion recognition software to objectively quantify facial movements of young children (with and without ASD) while they interact with their parents.

If you are a parent or caregiver of a typically developing child, click here.